Mother sentenced to 12 months probation for the death of her son, 4, in hit-and-run while they were jaywalking

A woman whose son was struck by a van and killed while the family was jaywalking across a busy Georgia street has been sentenced to 12 months probation.

Raquel Nelson's four-year-old little
boy, A.J., died when a hit-and-run driver ploughed into the family as
they crossed a busy four-lane road from the bus stop to their apartment
block in Marietta without using the crosswalk.

She was sentenced in Cobb County Superior Court on a vehicular homicide charge today - dodging a possible three year jail term.

Scroll down for video

Heartbreak: Raquel Nelson's four-year-old son, A.J., was killed in a hit-and-run as they crossed the road

In an emotional interview on the Today show yesterday, Nelson explained how she only jaywalked so she could get home before it
got dark - and how she's terrified of being sent to jail and being
robbed of time with her surviving children.

Earlier this month, she was convicted of vehicular homicide for the tragic death of her son, a crime which carries a thee-year-sentence - far more than the six months the hit-and-run driver served.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Nelson, 30, and her youngest daughter were also injured last April when Jerry Guy ploughed into them as they crossed.

He pleaded guilty to hit-and-run, his third such offence, and was released from jail on five years of probation in October.

Tragic loss: Raquel Nelson with her son, A.J., who died at the age of four

Nelson
told the Today show: 'I've had to accept that he's gotten
six months. There's nothing I can do about it, and even though he has
had a history of it, I know nobody gets up that morning and says I'm
going to kill a four-year-old.

'So I've had to forgive that portion of it. However, I think to come after me so much harder than they did him, I say it's a slap in the face. This will never end for me.'

When asked why she didn't use the crosswalk, she replied: 'You can see it's a busy street. The crosswalk, I think they determined it was 0.3 of a mile and even then coming home you had to cross another side street which is very dark in itself in order to get home.

'I was trying to hurry up and get home, so we wouldn't have to be in the dark.'

Residents
at the family's apartment block have long complained that the road is
dangerous, saying the nearest crosswalk is half-a-mile away.

Looking on the verge of tears for much of the interview, Miss Nelson, a single mother, was supported by her aunt, Loretta Williams.

Mrs Williams said: 'We are just hoping as a family that she [the judge] is compassionate and lets my niece remain with her other children, because she needs to be with her
other children.

'She hasn't really had a chance to grieve yet, and I
believe she needs to be able to continue with her life with my other
nieces.'

Emotional: Raquel Nelson was on the verge of tears next to her aunt, Loretta Williams, as they pleaded for compassion on the Today show

Miss Nelson claimed not all the evidence came out at her trial, and said she didn't feel the jury had 'really been in my shoes' as a single mother.

She said: 'All the jurors, they've all said they've never really ridden public transportation.'

Miss Nelson said the idea of being taken away from her daughters is heartbreaking.

She said: 'It's three years away from the two that I have left, and the part of
him that stays alive with me to a degree, other than remembering him.

Unscathed: Police lead away Miss Nelson's eldest daughter, the only member of the family who wasn't injured in the hit-and-run

Complaints: Residents at Miss Nelson's apartment building claim the four-lane road is dangerous because the nearest crosswalk is half-a-mile away

'So
that's the worse part for me, is separation from the other two.'

Miss Nelson was convicted on July 12, after a jury found her guilty of homicide by vehicle in the second
degree, crossing a roadway elsewhere than at a crosswalk and reckless
conduct.

She believes she has only survived
the trauma of losing her son and then facing trial for his death because
of her two other children.

She
said: 'I miss him a whole lot and I think my other two daughters are -
[that] they've been able to survive the situation has given me something
to
move on for. I don't think I could have without my other two.'

Driver: Raquel Nelson could spend more time in jail than Jerry Guy, who pleaded guilty to the hit-and-run

Guy was released in October after spending six months in prison.

He confessed to having had 'a little' alcohol in the day before the crash, said he was on pain medication and was partially blind in one eye.

Guy
had already served time in jail for two previous hit-and-runs, both on
February 17, 1999 - and one of which was on the same road as the incident
last year.